Cuckoo Pint – Toxic Plant of the Week

It’s Monday morning again and time to learn about another plant your horse can’t eat. Today we’ll take a closer look at an incredibly common house plant, the Cuckoo Pint.

A Little About the Cuckoo Pint

Arum maculatun is the Cuckoo Pint, also called Lords-and-Ladies, Wake Robin & Arum. This is a perennial plant with arrowhead shaped leaves (sometimes with purple spots). Flowers have a yellow or brown spadix covered by a light green spathe & fruit is a red, fleshy berry.

How Dangerous Is It?

Only during drought conditions would a horse even consider it and even then their contact would be limited. However, the sap can irritate on contact so it should be avoided. Contains an alkaloid which can make horses sick in high quantities but is rarely fatal.

All parts of this plant are toxic to equines & sap can irritate on contact.

What To Look For

You know your animal the best, so you should know when something is amiss. Cuckoo Pint toxicity symptoms can include irritation of the mouth & throat, diarrhea, colic, tremors, weakness in the back end and collapse.

Learn More

Be sure to check out the Cuckoo Pint page to learn more about the plant and while you are at it why not check out more toxic plants?

*It should be noted that I’m not a veterinarian. This information is written specifically for horses and should be used for reference purposes only. If you think your horse has eaten something toxic call your vet right away.